Basalt masonry

I took a walk this morning among my local steep hills. Near the Rose Garden, I spotted a resident clearing his front yard, which was full of Oakland-quarried boulders. He had dug out all the old junipers and was making terraces with the rocks. I told him they’re special now that Oakland has no working quarries. He said he’s trying to get his neighbors to tear out their junipers tooall the houses have these rocks, probably dating from the twenties when they were built. Then I crossed the Chetwood bridge into Adams Point and inspected a bunch of yards of the same vintage, where the same landscaping rocks were common. My guess is that the Leona quarry was the source. I still know little about the Hiller Highlands quarry, but the rock there is different. There are piles of old quarry rock in the slopes below Merritt College that match some of the stones I saw.

But after crossing to the Auto Row neighborhood via the Perkins and Frisbie stairways, I passed this exceptional house along Richmond Boulevard. The stone fence is noteworthy with its jagged top. I shot this picture in 2006; right now it’s covered in vines. And the porch behind it is a splendid example of stonemasonry. It’s all made of basalt stones, and I’m guessing that the rock came from the Round Top quarry (or conceivably the Rockridge Shopping Center quarry). But some time I need to visit the History Room at the main library and find out just what the local quarries produced and when they were active.